Excerpted from open letter
July 8, 2022
Open letter to Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers with primary responsibility for early learning and child care (sent in advance of the Ministers’ meeting in Burnaby, BC on July 12, 2022)
Dear Ministers:
Child Care Now (Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada) was founded 40 years ago to advocate for a Canada-wide system of early learning and child care that is publicly funded and publicly managed to make high quality licenced early learning and child care programs accessible, affordable and inclusive of all children. Today we speak on behalf of millions of people across Canada who have joined us directly or through affiliated organizations to promote evidence-based child care policy changes.
Like you, we believe that the federal government’s decision in Budget 2021 to make large ongoing investments in early learning and child care, along with signed funding agreements, can make transformation of child care services possible. Like you, we believe such transformation can lead to a range of positive outcomes for Canada’s children and families, economic and social and gender equity, as well as to significant growth in GDP. However, transformation and successful outcomes are dependent on each level of government taking effective steps forward, on all governments learning from each other, and on working collaboratively with child care advocates, the child care sector, public institutions including those in the post-secondary sector, employers, and civil society organizations.
We are taking the opportunity of your meeting on July 12, 2022 in Burnaby, British Columbia to express our deep appreciation for the many positive initiatives you have taken and to comment on some key policy considerations we know you are grappling with as you move forward...